Bollywood film-makers vie for larger screen pie

MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan's Ra.One may beat Salman Khan's Bodyguard with sheer number of screens it will be played out in cinemas this Diwali.

The film will be released in 3,200 screens, which is the highest ever for any Bollywood film. However, there is every chance that Ritesh Sidhwani's Don 2 may defeat Ra.One with an even bigger release in Christmas . Sunil Punjabi, CEO of Cinemax Cinemas, said, "The overall demand for films has increased and hence the need for a larger number of print runs."

Actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan believes like China, which has a 45% growth in moviegoers; India too is experiencing a similar trend but feels the number of theatres is not enough. "There are about 14,000 theatres in the cities, 8,000 in southern India and 7,000 in the north. Every day we hear that more theatres are being added, however, the population is also increasing . Once the retail of cinema gets more organized , people will come to the theatres."

Ritesh Sidhwani, who plans to release the Don sequel in Christmas, said, "I plan to show my film in every possible screen available in the country. It is the last week of the year and there is no other film releasing along with Don 2. Apart from that the movie is a franchise and already has its audience.''

Bollywood has begun following Hollywood way of bombarding cinema halls with maximum screens. Trade analyst Amod Mehra said, "Avatar released internationally in more than 14,000 screens, we are also doing the same thing. The reason is that shelf life of films has reduced considerably so producers spend on marketing and hyping them so that the audiences come in the first two weeks of the release and maximum revenue is generated. Hence, the collections are going up with each film."

Digitalization of cinema has a big role to play in the growth of the number of screens. Mehra said, "Even the video theatres and parlours have gone digital and are acquiring rights to screen films. Distributors like Mukta Arts have opened three-in-one cinemas in various towns.''

We have around 35 theatres registered as video theatres , which are largely in Gujarat. Rajesh Mishra of UFO Moviez said, "It is largely due to video theatres that many small multiplexes have chosen to go with less than 125 seats per screen to avail benefits of this policy.''

However, Mishra feels that the screens are still less as compared to other countries . "In London there is one theatre per 10,000 people , in the US there are 10 theatres per 10,000 and in India there is only one theatre for nearly a lakh so we still have a long way to go.

If Imran Khan's Delhi Belly released in 1,400 screens Ranbir Kapoor's film Rockstar will hit the cinemas in 2,500 screens. Ahuja said, "We are planning a wide release for the film. There are at least 40 multiplex properties being added annually and the shelf life of films is less as compared to the past."